Derek Van Diest, Edmonton Sun

In order to get through the Los Angeles Kings, the Anaheim Ducks need to get to Jonathan Quick.

During the regular season, the Ducks beat the Kings four times — three with Quick in goal.

Going into the opening game of their second-round series Saturday, the Ducks are looking to continue the trend despite Quick’s recent playoff heroics.

“I think any goalie is beatable, but he’s a world-class goalie and he’s won a Stanley Cup before,” said Ducks winger Nick Bonino, who scored the overtime winner to dispatch the Dallas Stars. “He knows what it takes to win and we have to make it difficult on him. We can’t let him see the puck. We have to get some traffic in front of him, because if he gets to see the puck, he’ll make every save.”

Quick was the main reason the Kings were able to battle back from a 3-0 series deficit against the San Jose Sharks in the first round.

He simply shut the door after struggling early in the series, giving up two goals in the final three games.

“I’ve scored a couple of goals on him and they’re all different,” Bonino said. “You just have to take what he gives you and make sure the puck gets by him.”

The Kings scored eight goals in their three victories over Quick this year, winning the final game of the season series in a shootout. Twice they managed to put three past him, which the Ducks feel is probably the maximum Quick will allow when on his game.

“He’s good, but first off, we have to limit our goals against, because you’re not going to score four against on him,” Boudreau said. “You have to find ways. He’s not so good that you can’t score. We respect him, but we’re not going to sit there and say, ‘Lets not even play because we can’t beat Jonathan Quick when he’s on top of his game’. He can be on top of his game and still lose 2-1.

“We know what we have to do to beat him. We know if he does have a weakness, I think we know where it is. But you still have to go out and do the job and everything else comes before you get to the goal.”

Having five days to prepare for the Kings, the Ducks have looked at plenty of film on Quick. They’re very familiar with him and their California rivals.

“We frustrated them this year in a couple of games and I don’t think they did what they really wanted to do against us,” said Ducks winger Andrew Cogliano. “I thought we played hard against them and we got to Quick in some of the games, and this has to be no different.”

At their end, the Ducks wouldn’t reveal Friday who will get the call in goal in Game 1.

Rookie Frederik Andersen started every game for the Ducks in their series against the Stars, but was pulled twice, including in the series-clincher.

Andersen took over the starting role from Jonas Hiller, who struggled down the stretch for the Ducks.

“It’s not up in the air here, it’s definitive,” said Boudreau, assuring the media it would be made obvious who’s starting during the morning skate Saturday. “We know who’s starting and they know who’s starting and we’ll run with it.”

Andersen posted a 3.40 goals-against average with a .892 save percentage in the first round. Hiller stopped all 13 shots he faced in relief.

An unrestricted free agent this summer, Hiller, admittedly, struggled with the mental side of the game down the stretch, which is the reason he lost his job.

“I think he’s in a better place watching him,” Boudreau said. “I think a lot of the trade deadline stuff and being a UFA had a lot to do with Jonas not being as good as he could be in March and April.

“But I watch him in practice and he sure looks like the guy that we know he can be.”

SELANNE LOOKS FORWARD TO SERIES

If it were up to Teemu Selanne, every series would be a freeway series.

The Anaheim Ducks winger is not particularly fond of flying, especially when things get bumpy in the air.

So facing an opponent up the road is a welcomed change for Selanne and the Ducks, who go up against the Los Angeles Kings in the playoffs for the first time in history.

“Absolutely, especially as long as the season is, the travelling on the West Coast, it’s very hard,” Selanne said. “So obviously now, it’s a little bus ride. It’s exciting.

“For West Coast teams, we travel so much during the year, now we have a series where you don’t have to use a plane, it’s an advantage. A little bus ride, it’s going to be fun.”

There have been plenty of interesting travel incidents over the years for Selanne, whose anxiety over flying usually only flares up during turbulence or inclement weather.

“I’ll sometimes go up to the cockpit, when thing get bumpy,” Selanne said. “In the front, it’s way more stable. In the back, it’s the worst.

“But I think it’s more about the control. You’re not in control, but when you’re there (in the cockpit) it seems like you have a little bit of control.”

The proximity between arenas is posing new scenarios for the teams for practice and game-day routines. But either way, both clubs are looking forward to the short travel for a change.

“We’re grateful, because the travel (on the west) is so much worse,” said Ducks head coach Bruce Boudreau. “When I got here (from Washington) after the first year, I said the West should start with 10 points because their travel is so much more than the East.

“For the wear and tear on the bodies, it’s cool that we’re 45 minutes apart and it should benefit both teams.”